- Date
- December 1, 2008, 16:50 local (21:50 UTC)
- Place
- Middletown, DE
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N276Piper PA-32R-300
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 14, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20081201856999A
- Case key
- 73556
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while landing in gusty conditions.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that the airplane was on short final approach for landing on runway 35, when he experienced a "sudden loss of airspeed and rapid increase in descent rate that was not altered by the application of power." The airplane landed hard on the runway, all three landing gear collapsed, and the airplane slid off the left side of the runway. The wing spar and engine firewall were substantially damaged. The pilot further stated that he was flying from the right seat, which made referencing the instruments more difficult, and he "encountered windshear." The winds at an airport located 10 miles northeast of the accident airport, about the time of the accident, were recorded as 280 degrees at 17 knots, with gusts to 34 knots.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that the airplane was on short final approach for landing on runway 35 when he experienced a "sudden loss of airspeed and rapid increase in descent rate that was not altered by the application of power." The airplane landed hard on the runway, all three landing gear collapsed, and the airplane slid off the left side of the runway. The wing spar and engine firewall were substantially damaged. The pilot further stated that he was flying from the right seat, which made referencing the instruments more difficult, and he "encountered windshear." The winds at an airport located 10 miles northeast of the accident airport, about the time of the accident, that were recorded as 280 degrees at 17 knots, with gusts to 34 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N276
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32R-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R-7680095
- Airframe hours
- 3,328
- Engine
- Lycoming TI0-540 SER, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Rbf Management Co
- Registered owner
- Rbf Management Co
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 2, 2008
- Departed
- SMQ · Somerset, NJ
- Destination
- EVY · Middletown, DE
- Airport
- EVY · Summit Airport, runway 35, 4,488 × 65 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 14, 2007
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 2,267 total · 155 in this make and model · 47 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 17 knots, gusting 34
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,300 ft broken
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.62 inHg
- Observed at
- ILG, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.